A FRAGMENT. 1
When, to their airy hall, my Fathers' voice
Shall call my spirit, joyful in their choice;
When, pois'd upon the gale, my form shall ride,
Or, dark in mist, descend the mountain's side;
Oh! may my shade behold no sculptur'd urns,
To mark the spot where earth to earth returns!
No lengthen'd scroll, no praise-encumber'd stone; i
My 'epitaph' shall be my name alone: 2
If 'that' with honour fail to crown my clay, ii
Oh! may no other fame my deeds repay!
'That', only 'that', shall single out the spot;
By that remember'd, or with that forgot. iii
1803.
Footnote 1: There is no heading in the Quarto.
Footnote 2: In his will, drawn up in 1811, Byron gave directions that "no inscription, save his name and age, should be written on his tomb." June, 1819, he wrote to Murray: "Some of the epitaphs at the Certosa cemetery, at Ferrara, pleased me more than the more splendid monuments at Bologna; for instance, 'Martini Luigi Implora pace.' Can anything be more full of pathos? I hope whoever may survive me will see those two words, and no more, put over me." - 'Life', pp. 131, 398.
Footnote: i.
'No lengthen'd scroll of virtue and renown.'
. P. on V. Occ.
Footnote: ii.
'If that with honour fails,'
Footnote: iii.
'But that remember'd, or fore'er forgot'.
. 'P. on V. Occasions'.
